Holding device for bubble caps



0, 1953 G. w. PLOSSL ET AL HOLDING DEVICE FOR BUBBLE CAPS Filed Jan. 4, 1952 F'IC3.4

F 5% m RON E oLg w E m WK. T Wa M 'GH R ma Patented Nov. 10, 1953 1 UNITED sTArE-s PAT 1 2.0581133 HOLDING DEVICE FOR BUBBLE CAPS George W. Plossl, West Springfield, and Frederick Neel, .Jr., Longmeadaw, Mass, assignoljs to Gilbert & Barker Manufacturing. Company, West Springfield, Mass., a corporation Massachusetts .Applieation January 4, 1952, SerialNo. 26.4.8372 1.01am- (01. 261-114) 1 1 This invention relates :to an improved holding device for use in fastening, :a bubble cap to its chimney and the tray .of a "fractionating tower in encompassing relation with a gas passage 1opening in such tray. 1

The invention has for an object'the provision not-a device of thischaractenhavinga crossbar .or so-.called .strong back, which may beso enggaged withthe walls of the tray openingas to beheld in place without manual assistance 1 with the hold-down bolt upstandingtherefrom, .while the chimney is mounted on the tray in encom passing relation with the opening andthecapis placed over the upper end of the hold-.dowmbolt and superposedon the chimney, a nut :then being applied to the upper :endyof .thebolt to draw the cap to the chimney. and hold: itito the floor plate of the tray.

More'particularly, the :invention has for .an

objectthe provision of a holding-device-of this.

character for use with an elongated gas passage opening in a bubble tray, the crossbar or strong back having an overall lengthtlesswthan that of the opening and also having. notches, zone in each end thereof, forming upperand lower projections 1 for engagement-with upper. and lower surfaces 'on thetray adjacent eachwlongside of; the opening, the distance between the notches being great er thanthe widthofthe opening inorder to prewvent the cross bar from "rotating-when the nut onthe upstanding hold-down boltis tightened.

The invention :enables easy :assembly .of the -parts:on a bubbletray by a single operator .workingentirely from'above the tray.

:The invention will :be disclosed with reference to the illustrativeembodiment of it inthe-acompanying drawings,"in'which,

Figs. 1 and 2 aretopplan andelevational views, respectively, of 1 a holding 1 device embodying the invention;

Fig. 3. is a top plan view For a bubble cap 1 and -:chimney mounted on a tray -of1.1a fractionating tower and clamped thereto by the holding device of FigsLlandZ;

Figii-isa view.1partly in front elevation and partly in central longitudinal section of the bubble cap assembly;

Fig. Sis a cross sectional .view thereof taken on the line 5 of 3; and.

Fig. 6 is a top plan view, taken similarly tocludes a crossbar I commonly called a strong;-

back, and a hold-down bolt 2, which is suitably fixed to the crossbarat ,a location intermediate its endsand upstands therefrom at right angles thereto Adesi a lewa qm i he tmn bee 18 .usetwo strips 3 Q1 us met-5.2.1, usually stain- 5 less steel, and jastenthem together in .anysuiteblewam ior xample by we d t twos io .es nd t t da E ch str p 3. 2; a l catipni n- .termedi t i endsis, ben 9 Pr d lanesr ximat -1 6m cr i slr se p r i9 5- Ib t .10 o io e e a rang d to nqpmpass the lowe .-end.of the hold-dowrfrboltlas willbeelear troin "Fig.1. These two portions 5 have oppositely loete s ot .6 ext ndin :t e th oush. o rece the square head 1 of the bolt 2 and to prevent is h a 1 1cm turnin i h t es t f fh cross bar hasnotches ll, o ne in each end there- Th Q h s formm e n qw prciections .9 and MI, respectively. One strip 3, at one end of the cross bar,;has a portion II, which forms part of a lower projection 10, extending b y nd h owerrq ect oneformin portion o the other strip. etthe .1-other .end of the cross 11bar I t e o he r -3 he -amni n I I w ich 1 ferm e o a l we ieq iq l." .e ex elnd 2 o 'th l we wmi et omf rmin Por ion the other strip. .I'heseportions Ll arebentat an obtuseanglejZ to-the cross bar I. The overh. all11le fih of-1the;cross bar is less than that of l the-,opening which it is to be mounted. The gg distance between thevendstwalls l3 ofnotchest -issIightIy -greater1 thanthe width of such openwing. The distance between the adjacenthori- .zontalsurfew otea a o u p r a lOwe p o t nsis S b tanti ua to h e s?? .35 ;1b twee 1t u penand l w rs rie m h 19m :wall Q the pen ne tbetray- Theh ldin dev ceflesst ei u e as h w :inl figsfi, lfandfi ,toelamp a bu'bblacap to its chimney l5 and, in theiormsh wn; to alsoclamp 14o h rc imne to the q rnla 1 9 ehllbbl t L'Of'w fra t onatinetow ;alth ug the h mne may be otherwise sepured to the floor plate if desired. I'he plate. lt has an elongated openin LI e t nd ng heret roueh- .1 Alon th tangent flfi5ilepQ cifi g 33 n t id oic e in hport qn 1 w tnl tw B1 e b n u werd sh r vidin upstan ine ense 1| ed ste c etwee th 99 1 surface 1 o 1 e h flang 1-1 B. an thelowe su a 11 1of1'p is ubs an al equ t .thath fiw e the ad acen z r ce e -eac pai o fl pper j d flower. projections .9 ,and Ill. Thus an opera- ":rto .su rtedo the fine at fi1. e n -strong backcin the opening 11. while it islild n t w s p suQ pnen ns- Then th t on 255::backsen-h t urne .ehq fvh es s Of it nh down bolt 2 to carry it into the position shown in,

3 Fig. 3, or until the vertical walls of the notches 8 bind against the vertical Walls of the long sides of opening I! that are formed by the flanges I8. The upper projections 9 will engage the upper surfaces I9 of these walls or flanges and the lower projections II) will engage the lower face 20 of plate I6, thus preventing the strong back from upward or downward displacement in opening H, The chimney I is now positioned on the tray with its passage 2I registering with opening I1, the chimney in this case being supported by an outturned base flange 22 which rests on the upper face of plate I6. Proper positioning of the chimney is facilitated because its long side walls 23 are spaced apart so as to engage and closely fit the outer faces of the upstanding flanges I8, whereby the chimney is properly located laterally, also, the tangent portions of these long walls have the same length as the flanges I8, whereby the chimney is properly located longitudinally of opening I1. The cap I4 is then put in place. Its end walls 24 are spaced apart so as to lie closely adjacent the ends walls 25 of the chimney, whereby the cap may be located in proper relation longitudinally with respect to the chimney. The cap is shifted laterally until the central hole in its top wall overlies the upper end of bolt 2, whereupon the cap'is pressed downwardly as far as possible. As shown its end walls 24 will rest on the flanges 22 of the chimney and spacers 26, fixed to and depending from the top wall of the cap, one on each side of bolt 2, rest upon the upper end of chimney I5. A washer 21 is then slipped over the upper end of bolt 2 and a nut 28 is screwed onto the threaded upper end thereof and turned downuntil the cap is clamped to the chimney and the latter to plate I6. The tightening of nut 28 tends to turn the bolt 2 and cross bar I in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3, thereby tending to increase the binding pressure of the notched endsof the cross bar against the long side Walls of opening I'l. Since the distance between the notched ends is greater than the width of opening H, the cross bar is prevented from turning clockwise beyond the illustrated position.

When it is desired to remove the cap, the nut 28 is loosened and this tends to turn bolt 2 and cross bar I in a counterclockwise direction, thereby tending to disengage the ends of the cross bar from the tray. If the cross bar does disengage from the tray in this manner the cap, bolt and cross bar may be lifted out of the opening IT as a unit. If the cross bar I does not become disengaged in this manner, then the nut 28 is removed, followed by the washer 21 and cap I4, the bolt 2 remaining in upright position. Then, the cross bar I is turned counterclockwise to disengage it from the tray, whereupon it may be lifted through the opening H.

The extensions II of the lower projections of the strong back are made to engage the under side of the tray I6 along a rectangular area that is parallel to the long sides of the opening I! for the purpose of distributing the clamping pressure longitudinally to some extent. Additional area of engagement of the strong back and tray can be had with the modified form of strong back shown in Fig. 6 and with resulting improvement in the longitudinal distribution of the clamping pressure. The strong back of Fig. 6 differs from that previously described in that bothends of both strips 3 are bent so as to lie substantially parallel with the long sides of the tray opening II, when the strong. back is engaged therewith, which is done in the same manner as heretofore described.

Thus, each strip 3 has at one end the extension II, bent at an obtuse angle, as described, and at the opposite end an extension 29 which is bent in the same direction but at an acute angle. With this construction, the contact area is doubled with a resulting increase in the distribution of the clamping pressure. This strong back construction, however, is more expensive than the one first described because the sharper bend of the projections 29 will necessitate heat treatment oi the metal, if the latter is, as is usual, stainless s eel.

The tray plate I6, chimney I5, cap I4, spacers 26, nut 28, washer 21, and bolt 2 are also customarily made of stainless steel. The cap I4, as usual, has suitable openings, such as 30 (Fig. 4), to allow the escape of gases, which rise through the chimney I5 and pass downwardly in the space between the cap and chimney, and then upward- 1y through the liquid, which is maintained on tray I6 to a level above the tops of openings 30.

The invention thus provides an improved device suitable for'clamping bubble caps to their associated chimneys and also, if desired, to the floor plate of a tray of a fractionating tower. The strong back is of simple construction, inexpensive to manufacture and readily mounted in place by an operator working from a position above the tray. The strong back, once engaged, in the tray opening, will remain so engaged without manual assistance while the chimney and cap are put in place and the washer and nut are applied to the hold-down bolt; 7

What is claimed is: I

A holding device for a bubble cap, adapted to be mounted in an elongated opening in a hubble tray comprising, a cross-bar and a hold-down bolt fixed centrally to and upstanding therefrom, said cross-bar consisting of two strips of inelastic material fastened together face to face and having in each of its two opposite ends a notch and upper and lower projections respectively above and below the notch, each pair of upper and lower projections being located in the same plane, the adjacent surfaces of each pair of upper and lower projections being straight and parallel and forming the upper and lower walls of the notch,

and a straight end wall interconnecting each pair of upper and lower walls at right angles thereto, the upper walls of both notches being located in the same plane and the lower walls of both notches being located in the same plane, said upper and lower walls being spaced apart to respectively engage the upper and lower surfaces of the tray adjacent the opening therein, the distance between said end walls being greater than the width of the opening in the tray, those portions of the strips which form the lower projections being of unequal length with one projection extending beyond the other at each end of the cross-bar, the longer projections each being bent at an obtuse angle to the adjacent shorter projection.

GEORGE W.'PLOSSL.

FREDERICK E. NEEF, JR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,796,256 Seeland Mar. 10, 1931 2,338,928 Glitsch Jan. 11, 1944 2,428,889 Nutter Oct. 14, 1947 2,578,881 Dunn Dec. 18, 1951 2,580,260 Winters Dec. 25, 1951 

